Monday, March 10, 2008

Hybrid armada

There's a rumor in our zone that one of our drivers is going to start his own taxi company. The details hint at some truth to the rumor: He's already purchased the medallions and is getting 12 new Toyota Prius hybrids. If this is true, our taxi fiefdom is going to change dramatically.

Each driver is speculating on whether they'll stay working for the present company with the Crown Victorias, or make a switch to the Prius company. The Crown Vics can carry a lot more people and luggage, and have plenty of power for hills and overtaking, but with a 4.6 liter V8, they get about 15 mpg. The Prius drivers would have to give up a few rides because they're small, but the nightly fuel bill would be very low. All of this speculation is based on rumor. I'm going to wait and see what happens. If the new company comes to fruition, our income will drop with 12 additional vehicles competing for the same rides.

3 comments:

Paradise Driver said...

Maybe not. Those were probably existing medallions, so there would be not change in the slices of the pie.

Also, which zone would those medallions be licensed to?

If a driver is called forward at a queue and the cab is too small, will said cab return to the front of the queue or have to go all the way to the back?

Anonymous said...

on the ranks here we have all sizes of cabs if a group arrive the first 7 seater cab takes them

Could you please update the link to my place? i've moved...Thanks!

http://irishtaxi.org/

NYC taxi photo said...

oh, love those prius', but my guess is the ford escape hybrid suv's are the best cars for the job. the trunk fits more than the crown vics, but the passenger room is cramped.